Steve Pearce | The Room | Punk Rock Media

Who's already in the room. "Being a misfit meant I created something no one else was doing." — Steve Pearce, Founder, Maverick Flavour Consultancy. For Steve Pearce, The Punk Rock Playbook® for Business Misfits felt familiar from the moment he picked it up. Throughout a career spanning science, flavour development, entrepreneurship and consultancy, Steve has rarely been someone who fitted comfortably into the conventional corporate mould. And, ultimately, that willingness to do things differently helped him build an award-winning business. With a degree in applied biochemistry and a lifelong fascination with smell, Steve began his career in the food and flavour industry, eventually becoming technical manager for an established flavour company. He later moved into a much larger organisation, but quickly discovered that corporate life wasn’t necessarily designed for someone who liked challenging established thinking. I never really fitted in. I was always the ‘maverick’. That became particularly apparent when Steve joined a large American company and established a new division. Although part of a major organisation, the division operated much more like a start-up – something that didn’t always sit comfortably with conventional corporate processes. Even when I established a start-up division within an established US company and was asked to provide a budget for the following year, my response of ‘I don’t have a crystal ball’, didn’t go down well. I was constantly battling to get people to understand. Eventually, Steve decided to create a business where he could set his own rules. Specialising in natural extracts and aroma chemicals, the company went on to win international awards. He sold the company in 2000 before going on to establish another business focused more heavily on flavour creation and natural products. He eventually sold that business too and today continues to consult for the group that acquired it. Creating something nobody else is doing Steve’s experience also taught him that successful businesses can’t be populated entirely by mavericks. I was always the one taking the risks, but I needed people around me who would challenge me. That balance between challenging convention and surrounding yourself with people who think differently is one of the ideas Steve recognised in The Punk Rock Playbook®, and why he ordered a copy when it was published. As soon as I saw the chapter titles, I could see where the author was coming from. Each chapter is almost like a punk rock song. You get the lyrics, the chorus and then you’re on to the next one in the set. It’s really entertaining. Don’t just pitch – show up One message that particularly resonated was the idea that simply delivering the same pitch as everybody else is unlikely to make you memorable. And it is something Steve practised throughout his own career. When I gave presentations, I’d make them weird. I didn’t want to just stand there talking. I’d get people involved and make it memorable. Think beyond tomorrow Another theme that struck a chord was the importance of thinking long-term. I’ve always believed you should think 10 or 20 years ahead. Create a business that you would miss if it disappeared tomorrow. Selling a business can be a very emotional decision, Steve explains. You’ve created something, built it and lived with it for years. That’s why thinking about what you’re really trying to build matters. Leadership doesn’t require a title The book’s challenge to conventional ideas about leadership also resonated strongly. I lost count of the number of times people insisted they needed ‘manager’ in their title, and I find myself trying to explain that leadership simply doesn’t work like that. Steve’s verdict For anyone who has spent their career wondering why they don’t quite fit the conventional business mould, Steve believes The Punk Rock Playbook® offers some welcome reassurance. If you’ve ever felt out of place, this book is for you. There’s nothing wrong with being a rebel or not fitting in. Being a misfit can be exactly what enables you to create something that nobody else is doing.